The Act to amend the Charter of the French Language (known as "Bill 104")The expression "Bill 104" comes from the fact that this is the 104th bill tabled by the government during a parliamentary session (the 2nd session of the 36th legislature). There have been many "Bill 104s" in Quebec's history, since each parliamentary session starts all over again from 1. is a Quebec amending actAn amending law is a law that modifies another existing law. In this case, Bill 104 amends four statutes: the Charter of the French Language (L.R.Q., chapter C-11), the Financial Administration Act (L.R.Q., chapter A-6.001), the Labour Code (L.R.Q., chapter C-27) and the Securities Act (L.R.Q., chapter V-1.1). introduced by the Landry government in 2002, which made adjustments to several provisions of Quebec's language policy. Its main objective was to rectify the Charter of the French Language in response to the recommendations of the Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec.
One of the most important changes made was the modification of the criteria for a child's eligibility to attend a publicly funded English-language school. However, in 2009, this amendment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2010, the Charest government passed Bill 115, rendering null and void the amendments implemented under Bill 104.
Bill 104 also led to the reorganization of government agencies working in the language field. This reorganization led to the creation of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), In English Quebec Board of the French Language. Bill 104 was passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 12, 2002, and came into force on October 1, 2002, with the exception of certain provisions.
Historical context
The Estates General In June 2000, PQ Minister Louise Beaudoin announced the Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec. The aim of this major consultation was to renew the government's public policies on language protection. The report (French, a language for everyone) was made public in August 2001, and presented the government with 149 recommendations aimed at "ensuring the use, influence and quality of the French language in Quebec."
The Act to amend the Charter of the French Language is intended as a follow-up to the report of the Estates General. Although it does not take up all the recommendations, the Act is inspired by many of them.
Subsidized English school +Explanatory table of access to primary and secondary schools in QuebecSubsidized school (private or public)In Quebec, many private schools are also subsidized by the government.Unsubsidized schoolFrenchEnglishEveryoneEveryone Children who had most of their education in English in Canada; Children of a Canadian parent who received most of his or her education in English in Canada; Siblings of children who have access; Children with special authorization.Le ministère de l'Éducation peut décerner une autorisation spéciale à un enfant pour qu'il puisse fréquenter l'école anglaise subventionnée. Cette autorisation peut être donnée soit pour des motifs humanitaires ou soit pour aider un élève à surmonter des difficultés d'apprentissage (Source: Charte, art. 81.)(Source of table: Charter, art. 73.)This table is deliberately a summary, omitting many details. For more complete information, consult Langue de l'éducation au Québec.
One of the law's most important measures is the amendment of section 73 of the Charter of the French Language. This section reserves access to state-subsidized English-language schools for English speakers. This measure, which dates back to the 1970s, was designed to make attendance at French schools compulsory for Francophones and allophones, while allowing the English-speaking minority to continue attending English schools.; In all cases, schools that do not receive government subsidies are not subject to the law, and parents can choose to send their children to French or English schools. In 2012, there were some fifteen unsubsidized private schools.
To determine whether a child is part of the English-speaking minority entitled to subsidized English-language schools, the Charter of the French Language establishes certain criteria (see table opposite). Generally speaking, these criteria are based on the education the child is currently receiving, or the education received by the child's parents. In all cases, education received outside Canada is not taken into account. These criteria were partly set by the National Assembly when it adopted the Charter of the French Language, but were eventually expanded (initially only English-language education received in Quebec by a child or his or her family would be taken into account when deciding), but were also dictated by section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Since Quebec did not consent to the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the existence of Section 23 is the subject of a dispute between Quebec and the rest of Canada. See: Kitchen Accord.
Over the years, however, many people have managed to circumvent the Charter criteria. By sending the child to an unsubsidized English school for the first year of school, the parents were able to apply for admission to a subsidized school at the end of the year. The child had thus spent "most" of his or her primary education in English. Some therefore accused these people of "buying" a language right, since they only had to pay for their child's unsubsidized school to benefit from a right reserved for the English-speaking minority.
The number of people who have benefited from this bypass varies widely according to calculations. Depending on the source, it can range from around a hundred to over four thousand people. The difference can be explained by the fact that some groups only count people who spent a short time at an unsubsidized school and then went on to a subsidized school, whereas the government takes into account all those who spent time at an unsubsidized English school even though they were not eligible for a subsidized school.
This led to the emergence of what some have called "bridge schools." Many unsubsidized English-language schools took in students for a few weeks, or even a few months, simply to allow these children to "pass through" to the subsidized English-language network.
Bill 104 was therefore an attempt to respond to this phenomenon. The Estates General on the French language had highlighted the decline in the French-speaking population on the island of Montreal. The language of instruction policy was one way of countering this phenomenon.
Adoption of the law
Adoption of the bill Bill 104 was presented to the National Assembly of Quebec by Diane Lemieux, Minister responsible for the application of the Charter of the French Language, on May 7, 2002. The final vote took place on June 12, 2002, when all members of the National Assembly, regardless of party affiliation, voted in favor of its adoption. Members came from the Parti québécois, the Liberal Party and the Action démocratique party.
Special consultations were held on May 15, 16 and 23 to hear the views of organizations wishing to comment on the bill, and the Culture Commission met on May 31, June 4 and 6 to study the bill in detail.
The Lieutenant Governor assented to the Act on June 13, 2002, and it came into force on October 1, 2002. However, certain sections only came into force when the government considered it appropriate. All these sections are now in force, with the exception of section 1 of the bill (see section on Language in Public Administration).
Positions of political parties
As the bill was introduced by the Landry government, it enjoyed the support of the PQ members, who had a majority in the National Assembly. The Liberal Party spoke in favor of the general idea behind the bill, but opposed several of its provisions. During the vote on the general principle, Official Opposition spokesperson on the Charter of the French Language, Pierre-Étienne Laporte, expressed reservations about the fusion of the various bodies responsible for language policy and the lack of flexibility in modifying section 73 of the Charter. Despite his concerns about the rigidity of section 73, the Liberals were in agreement with excluding the attendance of an unsubsidized English school in the calculation required to gain access to a subsidized English school. During the vote to pass the bill, Liberal MP Benoît Pelletier supported the government's desire to protect the French language:
The two Action démocratique du Québec MPs did not intervene in the debate on the bill.
Content Act 104 has been modified in five different ways:
the language of instruction in primary and secondary schools (see section 3.1); government bodies dealing with language issues (see section 3.2); the language policies of Quebec colleges and universities (see section 3.3.); language in public administration (see section 3.4); language in the workplace (see section 3.5).
Language of instruction
The modification + The bill amends section 73 of the Charter of the French Language in two ways.
The first change prohibits the use of years spent in unsubsidized English schools to determine eligibility for subsidized English schools. All parents, whatever their mother tongue, can continue to send their children to the school of their choice if it is not subsidized by the state. However, this stay at a private school will not facilitate their eligibility for a subsidized English school. In the past, some children took advantage of a stay at an unsubsidized private school to gain access to a subsidized English school. This right of access to the subsidized school was automatically valid for future children, as well as for the child's siblings. With this measure, the Minister wished to reinforce the obligation for Francophones and allophones to attend French schools.
The second important change affected people who attend subsidized English schools because of a special authorization. Certain children who do not normally have access to a subsidized English school may apply to the Minister of Education for special authorization to attend such schools. This exception is granted on humanitarian grounds or because of learning difficulties. This exception procedure continues to exist after the bill, but this stay at the subsidized English school no longer entitles the applicant to send his or her future children to the subsidized school. Similarly, when the bill was passed, there was some debate as to whether the siblings of a child subject to special authorization could attend a subsidized school with him or her. Several groups in parliamentary commission had criticized the government's position of not allowing siblings to attend the same school when one of them benefited from a special authorization.The Quebec Community Groups Network and the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) were among the speakers. The Liberal Party supported this request and the Minister decided to amend her bill to allow siblings to attend the same school as the child benefiting from special authorization.